Andrew Strauss will be reacquainted with the ICC mace on Wednesday, that which bears a passing resemblance to the one lying between the leaders of the two main parties in the House of Commons. He first collected it in the immediate aftermath of England's 4-0 demolition of India last summer, that lifted his side to the exalted position of No1‑ranked team in the world. These were happy times, relived on Monday at the England and Wales Cricket Board player of the year dinner in the Long Room at Lord's.

If it was a long path to the top, though – a dozen years since they were less officially ranked the worst team in the world – it was always likely to prove just as difficult to hang on to their position and maintain the standard. This is a considerably more competitive environment than those which existed at the top of the tree during three previous decades of dominance, first for West Indies and then Australia.

That Strauss is still in a position to collect the mace, and the cheque that goes with it, is down to the win in Colombo which ensured that England held off South Africa by no more than a smidgen, a differential that will not be altered unless, unaccountably, they contrive to lose a series to West Indies which looks as if it will be played in the sort of conditions that their wolf-pack of seamers might have put in their contract riders. If it was a happy end to the winter, however, there had been little, beyond the consistent brilliance of the bowlers, to cheer for the rest of it: a towelling from India in the five-match one-day series before Christmas, success coming only in a single Twenty20 game at the end of it; and then four successive defeats in Tests, three of them in the UAE by Pakistan and one in Galle. So it really was back down to earth with a bump.

So much as it was pleasant to sit back, sup a glass and bask in the glow of it, that was then and this is now. Nine losses in the last 11 international matches in all formats does not offer a ringing endorsement of a team that has ambition to dominate not just in Tests but in all forms of the game. This summer will test them to the full, with the forthcoming three Tests against West Indies and subsequent ODI series, followed by five ODIs against Australia, and then what promises to be the meat of the summer, a three-Test series against South Africa and more ODIs. By the end, as Jimmy Anderson said while mercilessly winding up the evening's excellent compere, Nasser Hussain, the No1 side will be the one which wins the series.

It should of course not be three Tests at all but five. When the current future tours programme was drawn up, England-South Africa series were granted icon status. Immediately England toured South Africa and played four. That it is only three now is a cricketing scandal in the broader sense but has its roots in expedience and reciprocity. Instead of England (and Australia) going into the next World Cup as bereft as they were at the last, on the back of an Ashes series and lengthy ODI series, the cycle of Ashes matches will be broken and, for 2015, England's efforts in the lead-up to the tournament will be exclusively ODI based, including a series in Australia, the host country. For this there has to be reciprocity, hence the series this summer. To enhance England's World Cup chances something had to give now and regrettably it was what ought to be one of the hardest fought series in this country for years.

In terms of Test cricket England might with some justification regard the winter results as a blip rather than a trend. Inadequately prepared in the UAE through a combination of essential rest beforehand and a lack of real intensity in the opposition in the warm-up matches, they still ought to have won the series. Instead they were totally let down by what was almost a perfect batting storm in which everyone appeared to fail at the same time. The batsmen can expect to recover, although failures for Strauss will always appear magnified now, and the bowling, in depth, will remain of the highest class.

Assuming Strauss recovers his abilities, then they need only to find a consistent No6. The West Indies series is a big opportunity for Jonny Bairstow. West Indies should be beaten comfortably and by the widest margin if the weather holds sufficiently. South Africa will be closer to call but England should win that too, given home advantage.

Beyond T20, in which they will be one of the favourites to retain their title in Sri Lanka at the end of September, there is less cause for optimism in the short form of the game. The Indian experience was a chastening one, albeit in conditions unlike those they will encounter in Australia and New Zealand. This summer yet another rebuilding process will begin, the drive to find a robust opening partnership to take full advantage of the first power play, to find and nurture allrounders and ultimately to give them all as much playing experience as possible so that by the time the World Cup arrives they are at least on the way to being seasoned ODI cricketers throughout.